Obituary of Brihana Rea Landrum

Bret David and Maria Dolores Landrum welcomed their baby girl, Brihana Rea Landrum on May 17, 1994 in Austin, Texas. Ryan Bret and Corey Shea, her older brothers, rejoiced in welcoming their baby sister. Brihana was 24 years old at the time of her unexpected departure from this earth on February 17, 2019 in San Marcos, Texas.

Family who await her in heaven and who we know were touched by her contagious smile – Ito (her maternal grandfather Samuel Lopez) and her paternal great grandparents Rea and James Walker and Granny Landrum.

Aside from her brothers and parents, Brihana was welcomed by a huge tight knit family.  On the Lopez side, she leaves behind her “Ita” Maria “Cuca” Lopez Rocha; five uncles and five aunts, among them are her Godparents Lupe and Esteban Rocha and Hector (Breana) Lopez and a total of 17 cousins. Among her cousins, there are two who were raised more like her siblings, Ashley and Sammy Rocha. She was blessed to be a Godmother and leaves behind her Goddaughter Aliyah Rae Caballero.  The Landrum side came a bit lighter as compared to the Lopez’s but are just as important: Paternal grandparents Phil and June Landrum; Aunt Lisa Parcher; her two sisters-in-law Pam Landrum and Caitie Ryan, and an extended family in Kentucky. Brihana also leaves behind two nephews and a niece, her much adored Cayden, Olivia, and Tyler – she was their Nana; uncles Samuel (Minnie) Lopez, Eric (Julie) Lopez, and Rodolfo (Melody) Lopez; cousins: Anna Maria (Nate) Lopez, Samuel Lopez III, Natalie Lopez, and Samuel Alvaro; Adrian and Jacob Lopez; Eliza, Eric, Lhila and Ethan Lopez; Gilbert, Ray, Josiah and Marcos Harros; Rudy Lopez; Britney (Grant) Grissom; 2nd cousins Amaya and Anthony Caballero; and numerous other loving family and friends. Not to mention the multitude of extended family living in Mexico, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, and Austin.

Brihana touched many around her leaving a beautiful legacy behind in her short tenure on this earth. She attended Strickland Christian School, Hyde Park Baptist School, and San Marcos High School.  She went on to continue her formal education at Austin Community College and finally Texas State University where she received a Bachelor of Science in Family and Consumer Sciences and her Master of Science degree in Family and Child Studies. One goal on her horizon was pursing an MBA or a doctorate in her field.  Brihana had many great plans ahead of her, among those was certainly furthering her education.

Brihana was a true servant in many ways.  From her early teenage years she began community service right here at Southwest Christian Church from where she had been a part of this amazing family.  Her faith path was well paved, her paternal grandfather, Phil Landrum was an Outreach Minister and her paternal great grandfather (James Walker) played a part in the construction of the education building of this church, at its former site on Emerald Forest.  Her Granpa Phil, just before retiring, performed one last great act – baptizing Brihana into Christ at the age of 12.  Later that year, Brihana began her ministry in the church nursery, eventually becoming the catalyst for Bret and Mary to follow in her footsteps. While in college, Brihana was given the opportunity to be an intern in the Children’s Ministry, eventually becoming a resident within the Children’s Ministry, which lasted a year.  Her last task while on staff was presenting a business plan to the elders to open a daycare for the church, solidifying her mark on the Children’s Ministry of Southwest Christian Church.

Aside from her work at Southwest Christian Church, she began in the fast food industry working at Wendy’s and Whataburger.  Then came her tenure at Victoria Secret where she worked hard to climb the management ladder. Arise Hospital (formerly Austin Surgical Hospital) was the next stepping stone where she dabbled in the health care industry thinking nursing was her choice of profession.  Quickly she learned it was not and went to work at The Children’s Courtyard of Austin where she discovered that children were her passion and boy did she have a way with little ones. While in graduate school at Texas State, she was a Graduate Instructional Assistant for Dr. Delgado. Among her many contributions in this role was her work with the Alcance Project whose goal was to encourage and help Latino kids excel in the school system.  But to her, her most important work was nannying for many families who entrusted their babies to her, included in these are: Adrian and Jacob Lopez; Harris and Shafer Hajovsky; Jackson and Spencer Shinn; and Savannah, Trevor, Wade and Rhett Elkins. 

After grad school, she deviated from her field somewhat and landed a job at Jewell which is an Oldcastle company.  She began as an inside sales rep, quickly learning the ins and outs of the business, so well in fact, that in less than a year she felt confident she could tackle just about any issue that might come up.  Her dedication, determination, and ability to learn quickly was noticed by senior management and they indicated they had great plans in the works for her.  As recently as a month ago, she traveled to Houston and Dallas to train others while being mentored and developed for a much bigger role, with plans for more travel in the near future.

Brihana also had a creative side to her which she began to show during a semester in high school when she brought home a report card with not so good grades.  These bad grades led to all her electronic devices being taken away.  Determined to make the best of it, she took this time to teach herself to play the piano – eventually learning how to play a handful of songs. She also taught herself to crochet, sew, and quilt.  Many have been recipients of her hand made masterpieces. Carla Thomure was a mentor when it came to quilting. Her Ita was her biggest cheerleader and, as you can imagine, claims Brihana’s creativity came from her.  Brihana’s dad, however, begged to differ.  Another pet passion of hers was making Christmas goodies with her Grandma June.

Believe it or not, she somehow managed to have a little downtime and always treasured this time.  Her cousins – Ashley, Anna Maria, and Eliza were the girls she hung around with the most.  But she had very dear friends as well – Jocelyn, Jessica, Alex, and Julie.  All these young ladies made our Brihana laugh but we dare say that she made them laugh even more and loved having a good time. One of her favorite places to let loose alongside her cousins and friends was at her dear Aunt Shirley and her cousin Emma’s Lakehouse in Kentucky.  Brihana was a strong, independent young woman with a tremendous sweet heart that just knew how to love others unconditionally and perfectly.  We take comfort in knowing that her faith guided her through all her decisions. 

So Brihana, soar your wings high up in the sky, princess.  Go and be with our heavenly Father.  Joke, hug, kiss and make your mark in Heaven along Ito, Pop, Grandma Rea, and Granny. It is only a matter of time until we meet again.  In our hearts you will always be our most beloved sweet Brihana, Bri, Nana, Flaka, Picara Sonadora, and most importantly…Bret’s Sunshine.

Funeral Mass will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, March 8, 2019 at St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church.

This will conclude services.

 Donations can be made to the Brihana Landrum Memorial fund to help continue the work she began in the Southwest Christian Church Children’s Ministry at www.swccaustin.org/giving.htm.

Please click link below to view Brihana's Memorial Services.

http://bit.ly/BrihanaLandrumMemorialService

Please visit www.missionmemorials.com to sign on-line register book and leave condolences to The Landrum Family.